Which is a fairly normal occurrence. Except when not long ago, the one and only Rob Liefeld was tweeting that you were a horrible editor and had small appendages. And so Smith’s departure was the occasion for another Liefeld broadside:

So I walked out of DC due to my editor’s incompetence. Now he’s gone. #funny

Smith also noted on Twitter that he had simply given notice, and indicated that his departure had nothing to do with the Liefeld attacks. In fact, after his stint at Marvel, Smith had a busy career as a freelancer, with projects such as the bestselling THE STUFF OF LEGEND, and a talented artist, as his website shows. So he has a lot of skills to fall back on.

So what actually happened with Smith and Liefeld? Aside from Liefeld, everyone who worked with him at Marvel AND DC has had nothing but good things to say about Smith. In fact, Gail Simone even issued a statement about him:

“Brian Smith is without question one of the smartest, most creative, and most organized editors I’ve ever worked with. He was an absolute pleasure in all regards. I am going to miss him terribly, but wish him only good things in his new adventures.”

From what insiders are saying, Smith was merely the latest victim of line editors being asked to take the fall for decisions from higher ups and being the one who was delivering news Liefeld didn’t want to hear, got the brunt of the vituperation as well.

At any rate, after less than a year at DC, Smith is back at the freelance game, and so is Rob Liefeld. The Beat wishes them both the best.

You know Rob has either walked out or was fired from every company he’s been at and as he leaves yelling and crying about how it’s everyone else fault, looks like a pattern to me. I wish Smitty the very best, he’s a great artist and I look forward to the stuff he’ll going to work on.

Having read Rob’s #0 issues, he needed someone to tell him what a story is. His Deathstroke was simply a wikipedia article with pictures, and the Hawk and Dove story in DC Universe #0 was just as bad, but with less space.

“Rob not letting things go and going after his ex editor reminds me of another artist who has “byrned” a bridge or two.”
I’ve never been able to figure out. Are you a fan of his or is your twitter handle just to get fans all worked up about things that artist says?

Gotta say here…
The level of these death-career battles saddens me. It’s pure anti-social behavior and teenage angst, and from what I can see here Liefeld just wouldn’t let it go.
Why? I don’t know.
As for Smith, he seems to have taken the high road, even deciding that what he was doing wasn’t working for him. He gave notice and left, without sticking up the offices, or dropping daisy-cutter sized stink bombs across the Internet. Good for him!
I wish them both success with their creator-owned projects, and some lasting solace. Corporate comics are not the place for über-egos, everybody loses when that happens.

“I’ve never been able to figure out. Are you a fan of his or is your twitter handle just to get fans all worked up about things that artist says?”

Shawn,

John is one of my favorite artists of all time. I own several pieces of his original art and often look for other pages in my price range. I’ve met him several times at conventions and he was pleasant to me and autographed my books.

I like some of his thoughts on drawing and technique and hearing about past working relationships. He also says things often that leave me incredibly confused and shaking my head. My Twitter feed collects the best and worst of all that.